The French expression “cousu de fil blanc” translates literally to “sewn or stitched in white thread”. English meanings include:
- obvious
- easy to see through
- perfectly predictable
The idea is that if a dark-colored garment is sewn with a white piece of thread, the thread sticks out very clearly to the eye. Expressio.fr suggests the following definitions in French: 1) Very crude and obvious (with regards to a trial) and 2) Extremely predictable (with regards to a story).
example sentence:
- Tout le monde sait que le procès de O.J. a été cousu de fil blanc. Il a fini par passer la reste de sa vie en prison. Everybody know the obvious outcome of O.J.’s trial. He ended up spending the rest of his life in prison.
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David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.
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Bonjour! My name is David Issokson. I'm based in Victor, Idaho (near Jackson, Wyoming) and have helped hundreds of students to learn French online since 2013.
